Why I Like Harry Better Than Draco

 ! major spoiler warning for harry potter !

Don't read any further if you haven't read the whole series.

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I know everyone always says, "Draco is so misunderstood!" "Draco is underrated!" "Draco deserved a redemption arc!" "Draco is the most broken character!"

But no.

I do think that Draco was misunderstood and that he was broken, and he definitely deserved a redemption arc - much more so than Snape. But he's not underrated anymore. There are so many Draco fangirls at this point that he's one of the more popular character. And no, he is absolutely not the *most* broken character. That is Harry.

Please let's just think about this.

Harry's parents were killed when he was just a year old. Then he was shipped away to live with his only remaining relatives, who verbally and physically abused him every single day for ten years. He was bullied at school and had no friends.  When he finally got to go to Hogwarts and make real friends and have fun, that should have been the end of his suffering, but it wasn't.

When he was just a teenager, he watched his friend die right in front of him. Only the next year, he watched one of his beloved father figures, the one who he had only known for two years but was already like a parent to him, the only one he had ever felt 100% comfortable confiding in, die, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. Then only A YEAR LATER, his other father figure died, ONCE AGAIN RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM, while he was frozen in place by a spell & invisible, totally unable to help. Keep in mind that this poor child, for the last six years, has time and time again faced problems that should be left to people twice his age and gone through so much emotional trauma. Not to mention: even though he no longer lives with his aunt an uncle all year round, HE STILL MUST GO BACK TO THIS ABUSIVE HOUSEHOLD for at *least* a week every single summer, often while his friends have fun without him. 

Then, since Dumbledore has died, he must shoulder the burden of a fully grown adult. He learned, a year before, that he has to killed or be killed, and it has been so ever since he was a year old. He must leave behind his school, the only place he really feels at home. Plus he has to break up with his girlfriend, who has made him feel happier than he has been in a long time. 

So he has to survive & struggle alone in the world for another year, with the additional weight of feeling responsible if anything should happen to his two best friends. Also: he was told next to nothing about what he needed to do, so this makes him frustrated and helpless. Somewhere along the way he gets kidnapped and then watches another friend die.

Then, in the final battle, he lost many more friends, including his THIRD father figure and that father figure's wife, who had just had their first son. 

And then he learns that he has been raised all along like a pig to the slaughter by Dumbledore. He must die. That's it. It's so simple. He must die for the good of the wizarding world.

And then this brave man, this wonderful boy, he walks straight to his own destruction. He doesn't hesitate. Because even after everything he's gone through, everything he's suffered, he's more selfless, considerate, and wise than many full-grown adults. 

Harry's story honestly breaks my heart. He went through so much trauma and he was ready to die at such a young age. I think we all underestimate how much he's been through. Draco is a great character, and sure, he was broken, but he was rude and a bully. Harry never sunk so low, even though he had every right to lash out and be extremely angry. That's why I like him more.